Energy-saving strategies are one of the priorities of telecom operators and governments. In particular, cooling technologies have a heavy impact on the total electrical energy consumption for telecom equipment, and needs to be optimized in order to increase overall performance, reduce both capital expenditure (CAPEX)/operational expenditure (OPEX), and reduce the environmental impact.
Electronic equipment generally has strict requirements for the operation environment temperature. If electronic equipment emits heat while operating, and the emitted heat gathers in the surrounding environment of the equipment, the operation environment temperature of the electronic equipment rises. When the operation environment temperature rises past a certain threshold, the electronic equipment may not work properly. Therefore, a refrigeration mechanism, air conditioner or other cooling apparatus are often provided for the electronic equipment. Similarly, if the environmental temperature is too low, the operation of the electronic equipment would be affected. Therefore, electronic equipment located in a low temperature environment may need to be heated.
For medium and low power outdoor equipment, a natural cooling solution may be implemented. In order to enhance the cooling ability of an outdoor cabinet and to reduce the power consumption level of outdoor equipment, a heat insulation layer and/or a sun shielding cover at the top of existing outdoor equipment may be implemented. Further, a wrinkled-wall structure of the outdoor cabinet may be adopted to effectively increase the heat dissipating area and thus enhance the natural heat exchanging ability of the outdoor cabinet. Air heated by power consuming equipment is often circulated inside the cabinet and heat is exchanged with the outside environment via the walls of the cabinet to maintain the normal operation temperature of equipment arranged inside the cabinet.
It is also very important to configure a grounding system for electronic equipment, because an efficient grounding system can protect the electronic equipment from voltage spikes caused by abnormal power sources, such as lightning. Low resistance provided by the grounding system is essential for the protection. However, a relatively higher cost for achieving low resistance grounding in conventional approaches is a concern.
As electronic equipment is designed with increasingly powerful functions and with increased amounts of electronic components, the need to improve the cooling ability of electronic equipment (e.g., under the premise of being environmentally friendly and energy-saving) and provide an efficient grounding system with lower cost increases.